| If you’ve been diagnosed with one of the forms of diabetes, then you probably also have many prescriptions that supposedly will help maintain your lifestyle – as long as you take them forever. Lifetime maintenance medications can be lifesavers when they are needed, but they also make permanent changes to our bodies, and so it’s always a good idea to see how we can help ourselves take care of some problems by using what is all-natural, instead of what is pharmaceutical.
There are several nutrients you can add to your diet to help manage blood glucose levels. Chromium can help your body respond appropriately to the stimulus of insulin – many diabetics don’t respond as they should to the insulin, which is why their blood sugar gets out of control. It is available in whole grains and meats, as well as in some fruits and vegetables, but also in supplement form.
Zinc helps your body generate and store insulin – in fact, many diabetics also have a zinc deficiency. You can gain zinc by eating foods like sardines, almonds, pecans, chicken, oysters and lamb, or adding a multivitamin with zinc.
Cinnamon can cut your blood glucose levels if you take some each day. You need at least six grams daily to get this result, though, so you can either put some on your cereal, eat cinnamon toast, or take a cinnamon capsules to get it.
Salacia oblonga is a herb that comes from south Asia – specifically Sri Lanka and India. It helps enzymes that naturally occur in intestines break down carbohydrates. The result, according to one study, was insulin level reduction of 23% and overall blood sugar reductions by 29% on a regimen of a 1000-mg dose each day.
Obviously, the more fresh foods you eat, and the fewer processed items you consume, the better the effects will be on your blood sugar level. High fructose corn syrup lurks in processed foods in the supermarket, and it will drive your glucose levels up |
